Saturday, December 19, 2009

In search of a hangover cure

Thy Thy House118 Victoria Street

Richmond 3121

Ph: 03 9429 8668

I've often heard people talk of spending lazy Sundays eating cheap, tasty little dumplings to cure a hangover. I used to swear by a can of tuna and a cup of tea to soothe me through the morning after but this odd combination doesn't seem to work anymore, so figured the day after my work Christmas party was a good time to test out the theory.

Steamed prawn wontons, $8.00

Despite being steamed, these wontons were covered in a greasy dumpling wrapper rather than the smooth, oil-free skin I was expecting. Still, the prawns inside were unprocessed, thick and juicy, with that little bit of crunch that fresh prawns have. Don't bother with the accompanying sauce though: its a thick, gluggy brown mixture that tastes like the flavouring sachet from a pack of two-minute noodles.

Scallops in chili and lemongrass sauce with rice, $8.00

This dish was part of a selection of $8.00 lunch specials; it had a bit of a kick from the chili but overall was quite bland. The vegetables were fresh and crunchy but the scallops were thin, old, and served without the delicious orange roe.

Service was provided by two young Asian boys with Aussie accents. I arrived and found them eating and watching The Nanny, but wheneverI required service it was quick, attentive and warm. With a delicious Vietnamese beer (333, $6.00) lunch cost me $22 - good value for the quantity served, but the food itself was not remarkable. It's one of the more flashy looking restaurants along Victoria Street; perhaps next time I'll stick to one of the more authentic, grungy looking places. Still, those little prawn parcels, and all that rice, did indeed leave me cured of my hangover.